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Dharma · Dhrita · Duryaman — Three Successive Kings of the Druhyu-Gandhara Line
Dharma · Dhrita · Ghrita · Duryaman · Durdama · Durmanas · Durmada
Dharma, Dhrita, and Duryaman are three successive kings of the Druhyu lineage, descending from Gandhara — the eponymous founder of the Gandhara kingdom — and leading directly to Pracetas, from whose hundred sons the Mleccha peoples of the north are descended. They are attested in the Bhagavata Purana (9.23.15), the Vishnu Purana (IV.17), the Brahmanda Purana, the Vayu Purana, and the Matsya Purana as a consecutive generation sequence, and in each source they appear only within the compressed genealogical list without individual narrative treatment. They thus represent the closing three named rulers of the Puranic Druhyu sequence before the line disperses into the hundred sons of Pracetas. The name Duryaman in particular exhibits significant variation across sources and requires careful documentation.
✦ The Names
The name Dharma derives from the root dhr (to uphold, sustain) and means law, duty, righteousness, or the cosmic order — the most conceptually charged word in the entire Sanskrit dharmic tradition. Its use as a personal name for this king is noted with a significant variant: Wilson's footnote to Vishnu Purana IV.17 records that the Brahma Purana and the Harivamsa, in opposition to all other primary sources, make Dharma and his successors descendants of the Anu branch rather than of the Druhyu-Gandhara line. This is the most consequential branch-attribution variant in the entire Gandhara genealogy.
The name Dhrita derives from the same root dhr (to hold, to sustain) and means one who is sustained, supported, or maintained — a passive form carrying connotations of stability and endurance. The Agni Purana renders this name as Ghrita (clarified butter, or a liquid), a phonetic variant of unclear significance.
The name Duryaman is used in the Vishnu Purana. The Vayu Purana and the Bhagavata Purana use Durdama (difficult to tame or subdue) or Durmada (badly intoxicated or of bad pride). The Bhagavata Purana's Wisdomlib rendering uses Durmanas (of evil or troubled mind). The Matsya Purana, Brahma Purana, and Agni Purana insert an additional figure — variously named Vidupa, Duduha, or Vidula — between Duryaman and Pracetas, adding a generation not present in the Bhagavata, Vishnu, or Vayu accounts.
✦ Lineage
- Dynasty: Chandravamsha (Lunar dynasty), Druhyu lineage, Gandhara branch
- Dharma: Son of Gandhara, eponymous founder of the Gandhara kingdom; Gandhara was son of Aradwat, son of Setu, son of Babhru, son of Druhyu, son of Yayati
- Dhrita: Son of Dharma
- Duryaman: Son of Dhrita; father of Pracetas
- Pracetas: Son of Duryaman; his hundred sons became the Mleccha princes of the north — the terminal figure of the Puranic Druhyu record
✦ Textual Variants
Two categories of variant affect this group. First, the name variants for the third figure: Duryaman (Vishnu Purana), Durdama or Durmada (Vayu Purana, Bhagavata vedabase rendering), Durmanas (Bhagavata Wisdomlib rendering). These represent different names across different Puranic recensions rather than simple scribal variations. Second, the Matsya Purana, Brahma Purana, and Agni Purana insert an additional figure — Vidupa, Duduha, or Vidula — between Duryaman and Pracetas. This means that in those traditions there are four kings in this stretch (Dharma, Dhrita, Duryaman, and the additional figure) rather than the three attested in the Bhagavata, Vishnu, and Vayu accounts. The branch-attribution variant for Dharma noted above — placing him in the Anu rather than Druhyu line in the Brahma Purana and Harivamsa — is the most structurally significant of all these divergences.
✦ References
- Primary Sources:
- Bhagavata Purana, Skandha 9, Adhyaya 23, verse 15: Names Dharma as son of Gandhara, Dhrita as son of Dharma, and Durmanas (Durmada) as son of Dhrita; gives Pracetas as the son of Durmanas
- Vishnu Purana, Book IV, Chapter 17 (H.H. Wilson translation, footnotes 3–5): Gives Dharma, Dhrita, and Duryaman in sequence; footnote 3 records the Brahma Purana and Harivamsa attribution of Dharma to the Anu line; footnote 4 records Ghrita (Agni Purana) for Dhrita; footnote 5 records Durdama (Vayu and Bhagavata) for Duryaman and the insertion of Vidupa/Duduha/Vidula (Matsya, Brahma, Agni) before Pracetas
- Vayu Purana, 99.9–11 (as cited in Wilson's footnotes and Kirfel 1927): Gives Durdama/Durmada for Duryaman; confirms the sequence leading to Pracetas
- Matsya Purana, 48.8–9; Brahma Purana, Chapter 13; Agni Purana (as cited in Wilson's footnote 5): Insert an additional figure (Vidupa, Duduha, or Vidula) between Duryaman and Pracetas
- Secondary Sources:
- Dharmapedia, article on Druhyus: Cites the concordant five-Purana record confirming the sequence; notes the closure of the Puranic record at Pracetas
- Arxiv 1204.3800 (Indus script and Meluhha study, citing Kirfel 1927): Quotes the Sanskrit verse common to Bhagavata 9.23.15–16, Vishnu 4.17.5, Vayu 99.11–12, Brahmanda 3.74.11–12, and Matsya 48.9 recording the hundred sons of Pracetas as Mleccha kings of the north